[links] Link salad will steer for you

A page is turned — UK’s Financial Times with some actual industry analysis of the Amazon-Macmillan negotiations. (As opposed to the generally simplistic US press coverage of “Macmillan is raising ebook prices, oh well”.) There are some errors here, such as an odd comment about ebooks having no marginal costs, and a mistake in describing bookshops as working on the agency model, but this is still some pretty interesting work. (Thanks to blog commentor Stevie.)

Rachel names the GOP hypocrites — This video is worth watching, especially if you somehow imagine the GOP retains any intellectual or moral consistency. Maddow names names and gives examples, over and over, of GOP congressmen and senators who slam the stimulus hard in the national media as an abject failure, then take credit for money and jobs at home. Her larger point is that the Republicans have utterly abandoned policy for politics. Not that this is news…

Pastor Wiley Drake prayed for the death of John Murtha — Ah, Christianism. That deranged, righteous intersection between conservatism and religion. Worst of both worlds, the virtues of neither. I don’t understand why the GOP ties itself to these moral monsters. (Well, votes, of course, but at such a cost to the character and credibility of the conservative movement.)

Human microchips seen by some in Virginia House as device of Antichrist — Uh, yeah. Check out this gem: “I just think you should have the right to control your own body,” [Republican] Cole said. That’s a pretty bizarre sentiment from the party that enthusiastically supports forced pregnancy and criminalization of private sexual behavior between consenting adults. I’m sure Cole will be walking this little mistake back any time now.